


Lost In the New World

by AsherDemonWolfboy



Category: World Trigger (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Adopted Children, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Team as Family, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27750283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsherDemonWolfboy/pseuds/AsherDemonWolfboy
Summary: Two small children run out of the gates. A pair of siblings. They flee to Meeden but don't remember what they are fleeing from. Thankfully, a power elite, a short intimidating captain, and a gentle giant come to their aid. With no ship or traces of any worlds coming close, suspicion surrounds the duo.
Relationships: Kazama Souya/Kizaki Reiji
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. 🖤 Vendetta Ⅰ 🖤

Ven held his sister close as they fell out of the gate. Heart racing as they tumbled down the dusty path. He was quick to pull his sister to her feet and bolt towards the brightly lit city. His sister was trying not to cry as pushed everything to the back of his head. This was not the time to think about them. They had to run.

There were no people around. It was so quiet. Way too quiet for him. He slid to a stop. His heart was thumping so fast. He swore it would jump out his chest at any moment and run off without him. He turned back to his sister, who was crying. "I'm scared." She sobbed as she wiped her face.

"D-Don't worry. We'll be fine." He said, well tried to as he was still shaking. "L-let's go."

"Hey there!" A voice called.

Ven jumped and he readied his trigger. Three men came from the shadows. His sister started crying louder as they came out from hiding. Ven gritted his teeth."What do you want." He demanded but his voice betrayed him. He needed to be tough now!

"We saw both of you come out of the gate." The shortest of the group said. Ven could feel himself shaking even more under his red gaze.

The sheer color of his eyes though matched his and his sister's in color was quite intimidating. He tried to control his breathing as his father had taught him. "What does that matter? You want to fight?!" He challenged them.

"Now, Now. We just want to help you." The voice, coming from one of the brunettes, said as he held his hands up with a small. "You two look pretty badly beaten up. We'll help you out. All we want is answers when we're done."

The blase attitude that the brunette had irritated him. He noticed his sister had gone quiet for a bit and squeezed her hand to see if she was still awake. She didn't do anything for a moment. He looked back at her. She fell to the side. Eyes closed. A soft thud made his heart stop. He fell to his knees and started to shake her. "Sis!" He cried out.

Blood ran down one side of her face and arms. He heard footsteps but they were muffled against his cries and the growing ringing in his ears. His body was growing cold. His sight was getting blurry from all the crying.

Then everything went black.

Then blinked. He was in bed. In a room, he didn't recognize. He placed his head in his hand. He let out a breath. Sitting upright he could see the sun starting to rise. The bandages on his arm caught his attention. He could feel the tight bandages around his stomach as well as his other arm and head. "My body hurts." He groaned as he hugged his stomach.

"You should lay back down then." The voice made him jump as he slid back and pressed himself against the window. It was the red-eyed man from last night. "You both fainted. We'd assume from overexertion." He added as he stood up from his chair and offered his hand. "I'm Kazama. You?"

Ven hesitated but took the man's hand. "My name is Vendetta. You can call me Ven if you want."

Kazama nodded and shook his hand. "Do you want to see your sister?"

Ven nodded and jumped off the bed. But fell to his knees the moment his feet touched the ground. Kazama caught his arm. He snatched it away and pushed himself back onto his feet and raced to the door. "Where is she?"

"Calm down. You're gonna hurt yourself." He said as he opened the door. "This way."

Ven followed after Kazama to a room down the hall. He was a bit slower than Kazama. The man had made sure that he was still following him. Even stopping occasionally. "I'm fine. I don't want nor need your pity." He hissed and tried to look intimidating. He didn't say anything. Only nodded and led the way.

The hall was pretty long. Or he just had short legs. He was half of Kazama's height from the looks of it. They finally got to the door and it only made him more skeptical.

"This was the only other room that was empty." He said as he opened it wide. "You both were bleeding pretty badly when we got you here. We won't ask any questions right now. Would you like something to drink?"

Ven shook his head and walked into the room. Though it was vague, he recognized the other two men in the room from last night. The muscular man was sitting beside his sister pressing a cloth against her face. He was just as intimidating as the shorter- Kazama. He looked towards the bed.

Couldn't see his sister at all. The brunette stood up from his chair and helped him onto the bed. Ven struggled to get away but that only made the man laugh a bit. Ver was fast asleep. Face damp and breathing was off. "Is she okay?" He asked no one in particular.

"She's sick. It's not bad right now thankfully. We'll leave you be." The muscular man said as he sat up and left with the other two.

Enraged. Helpless. Useless.

This was his sister. He was supposed to help her. Not these people. But here he was being helped. "Ver?" He whispered. "You need to wake up."

She was quiet.

"Please wake up soon." He begged as he laid beside her.

She let out a soft snore.

Ven looked around the room. It was barren besides the supplies that were left on the counter. Nothing that seemed too serious. Or would hurt her. He closed his eyes and decided to rest for a while.


	2. 🖤 Vendetta Ⅱ 🖤

A cold hand shook his arm. Groaning, he lifted his head. Ver was bright-eyed and wide awake. "Where are we?" She asked in a whisper.

Ven shrugged and sat up. "Don't know. We both fainted by what those guys told me." He yawned. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm hungry." She said as he rubbed his eyes.

"We should leave this place. We'll find food afterward." He said as he slid off the bed.

"Why don't we wait for those guys to come back? We don't know where we are." She pulled the blanket around her shoulders. The cloth that rested on her head now laid on the cushion that rested her head.

"They're trying to lower our guard. If we stay, who knows what they'll try and do with us." He growled and stomped the ground with his small foot.

She just stared at him. Face deflated. "...but I'm hungry now." She whimpered.

Ven sighed in annoyance. A gentle knock almost made him jump.

"Yes?" They said at the same time.

The muscular man came into the room with a tray. The fantastic aroma almost had him drooling. His sister was not even trying to hide her hunger. Growling as loud as a bamster. "S-Sorry."

"It's fine. I thought you two would be hungry." The muscular man said as he placed the tray on the surface next to the bed. Then handed her a small plate. "Here, let me know how it tastes."

Ver smiled and accepted it. She was swallowing her food whole. He sighed. Great. Just great. He wasn't going to take any more 'offerings' from these people. He remembered his father's teachings about how cruel people outside the family were. Even if his sister forgot, he wouldn't.

"You hungry too?" The muscular asked. Ven shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, though." He said. "We'll leave when she's done."

The muscular man looked back at him. He wouldn't be intimidated by this man. No, this-this behemoth of a creature wouldn't have him shaking in his boots like last night. "You two are still hurt. You can stay here for as long as you need too."

"We'll be gone soon." He repeated and sat against the wall.

The muscular man looked like he wanted to spout something else, but he stayed quiet, nodded, and left the room.

"You didn't have to be a jerk," Ver said after swallowing her food. "He was nice, and you didn't have to give him the cold shoulder like that."

"He's a stranger. We shouldn't trust him. We shouldn't trust any of them." He reminded her.

"Doesn't mean you can be rude." She said as she curled into the blanket. "Especially when they were kind enough to help us when we needed it."

"We didn't need it." He scoffed.

"Yes, we did."

"No, we didn't." He sighed and gritted his teeth. "It doesn't matter. Are you done yet?"

His sister pouted and shook her head. She took another bite of her food, but he could tell she either didn't want to leave, or she was too scared to. He wasn't bothered by it since he knew she wouldn't want to be left behind.

Despite her pouting, his sister soon finished her meal, and they left the room. Quietly, they made their way through a relatively large building. Making as little noise as they could, Ven led them down the stairs. He checked the area vaguely before heading towards the door. He quickly tried to make his way to the door.

"Leaving so soon?" The intimidating short man's voice surprised them. Ver was waving to him with a smile on her face.

"Yeah. Sorry." She apologized to the red-eyed man as he made his way down the stairs. Her long mess of hair covered her body. Her voice was still kind, and he wondered what was going through her head.

"It's fine." He said as he made his way down the steps. "How are you feeling, miss?"

"I'm doing fine! Thanks for asking! You?" She asked with what he assumed was one of her dumb smiles.

"I'm fine. We're worried about you two primarily." Kazama said as he knelt to her.

"Well, we're leaving now." He said as he walked over and grabbed his sister's hand.

"Not yet." He said. "We need to ask you some questions."

"We don't have to answer them-"

"It'd be the polite thing to do." His sister cut him off. "Besides, he helped us."

Ven sighed. "Fine, but we're not anything personal." He gritted his teeth. "And I'm going to be answering the questions."

Kazama nodded and sat on the steps. "That's fine. I just need answers."

"Then, ask."

"Alright then," Kazama said as he readjusted himself. "Were you fleeing from someone? We noticed some pretty bad wounds while taking care of you both."

"Yes, we were, but we don't know who. It doesn't matter anyway." Ven answered.

"Were you on a ship or your home country?"

"Home country."

"Do you intend to return?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, we do. That's what we're trying to do. So let's hurry this up."

Ver hit him pretty hard in the side. He ignored it and decided to focus on Kazama's eyes. The man wasn't bothered by any stretch of the word. Then again, no one would be afraid of an eight-year-old that was a little under half his size.

Kazama closed his eyes. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry for his rudeness." She apologized.

"It's fine. I've dealt with worse. He's not even a scratch compared to them."

Oh, now he was really testing him. He gritted his teeth as Kazama turned towards his sister. Clearly liking her naivety. "Are we done yet? We need to leave soon."

Kazama closed his eyes for a moment. "Do you need any help at all getting back home?"

"We'll be fine on our own." He said as he grabbed his sister's hand and headed for the door.

"Very well, then. I wish you the best for your return journey." Kazama said as he opened the door for them. "If you have trouble, you're welcome to come back."

"Thank you so much. We'll remember that." Ver said as she followed him out the door.


	3. 💙 Vermellia Ⅰ 💙

She wished and wished with all her heart that her brother would just think about his words before he spoke. If he just did that, then they wouldn't be in situations like this. If he would just think in general, everything probably would be different. But she couldn't change anything now as they sat here. Trying to catch their breath as the rain pelted them.

Her short-brained brother had to steal from the wrong people and then taunt them. They had managed to get away somehow. "You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?" She said in a hushed voice.

He let out a noise but said nothing else. He just kept his eyes on the massive white building, or at least from what she could tell. Ver shook off as much rain as she could to stop herself from shivering. "Let's go." He said as he stood up.

"Where are we going now?" She asked as she followed his lead. "It's not somewhere stupid I hope."

"Shut up! Keep up!" He snapped as he grabbed her hand and led her across the road. The rain continued to slam down on them. That's all she could hear besides the puddles they splashed in as they ran. They ran and ran for a while until her brother finally came to a stop at a barbed fence. He crawled under and bolted towards one of the nearest buildings.

She crawled under the fence. Though not as gracefully as her brother. She could feel the barbs cut her arms a bit as she got through.

"Hurry up!" He called out through the rain.

"How about you wait up?!" She scrambled to her feet and slid through the mud. Gritting her teeth, she ran inside the building. "Ven, where are you?!"

"Up here you dolt." She followed his voice up the stairs. She could hear his laughs as she neared one of the rooms. Pushing a few of the doors open, she found him looking out the broken window at something. "Look." He said as pointed towards something.

She made her way over to him and peered out the window. Several people were fighting a Neighbor. "Do you think they are this world's warriors?"

"It's possible. They have weapons like us but they don't fight like dad and the others." He said and sat down against the wall. "Let's avoid them at all cost, kay?"

She nodded and slid beside him. Letting out a breath as a weird feeling grew in her stomach. Looking out the window, she vaguely saw a glint of light. Before she could recognize the light, a blast was fired towards them. Destroying the floor to the stairs as they knelt away from the window.

"What was that?!" Before either could answer, another shot went through the window.

Ver covered her head while Ven ran to the other side of the room. "Who are you and why are you here?" Someone said as the sound of footsteps vaguely echoed through the destroyed room. She froze. The hole was much bigger than she thought.

There were about nine people in the room, not counting her and her brother. She couldn't even distinguish them from one another because of how dark the room was. "We should ask you mongrels that." Her brother hissed as he ran over to her. "You bastards coulda' killed us!" He snarled.

'Vendetta, please shut up!' She wanted to scream but bit her tongue. Her hand drifting to her coat-pocket and grabbing her trigger just in case.

"Answer me runt." The same voice demanded.

"I don't talk to destructive tyrants. Sorry but try again, Mongrel."

She reached out to try and stop him but the man yanked him off the ground. Ven screamed and thrashed. Letting out strangled noises as someone started moving. A brown haired man briefly shone in the raining moonlight before speaking.

"Miwa stop!" The brunette said. "He's just a kid. Violence isn't necessary right now!"

He said nothing at first. With a thud, Ven landed back on the floor and started coughing. "Brother!" She followed the faint noise and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?!"

"Miwa, I'll take over-"

She couldn't see what Ven had done. Thunder started to rumble. Someone shouted but everyone, including Ver, jumped back. Ven had launched himself at one of the guys. Her eyes widened as the man tried to push him away. Two others rush to help him. But they fell out of the hole in the wall and into the yard below them. The others rushed over to the hole while she bolted towards the stairs.

Jumping down the flight of stairs as fast as possible. She made a beeline for the muddy open road. Despite the rain, the moon shone down on the road. "Ven! Ven! Where are you?!"

"You block-head! Run!" She saw him in his trion body waiting for her.

"Trigger on!" She said before bolting after him. Thankfully, any possible pain from the rain couldn't affect her as they started sliding down the road. "What are we going to do?!"

Ven grabbed her hand and jumped onto the roofs. "We keep running for now! We're extremely outnumbered!"

"Okay!"

They kept jumping from roof to roof but their warriors weren't far behind. They were catching up pretty quickly.

Some faster than others. She ran past her brother as he stopped to face them. "Ven?"

"I'll hold them off for as long as I can. But you need to get out of here." He said as one of them started shooting at them. She did a double take before jumping towards the next house. She kept running and bolting from house to house until she found a place to hide.


	4. 💙 Vermellia Ⅱ 💙

She managed to lose them in the confusing mess of rubble and crumbling houses. Deactivating her trigger, she trekked through the mud and rain staying close to the shadows as she made her way back to the fight. Determined to make sure her brother was okay.

Giving her pursuers the slip was the hardest part since there were so many of them. But she remembered what her brother had told her. 'Use your size and traits to your advantage.'

"Stay close to the building. Use your hair to hide." She reminded herself as she pressed herself against a dark corner outside of another building. Besides the rain and fight filling the air, Ver noticed the chilling silence. Every house and building she passed was the same. Empty. Abandoned. Destroyed. Deserted. Some of the buildings that were built were drenched and crusted in blood. But nobody but they were in the area.

She let out a breath. As she finally found the battle, Ven was under one of the men's boots. Gun pointed at his head.

"For someone who talks a lot, sure can't back it up now can ya?" The man with narrow red eyes said.

She couldn't hear what her brother was saying from the distance but could guess he was spitting some sort of insult at the man. By their attackers growing enraged expressions. She had to be quick and do something!

Ver climbed into one of the buildings through a window after activating her trigger. Through the window, she could see all the warriors but not too clearly thanks to the rain. She needed to get all of them to back away from Ven. She held out her hands and fired off several bullets towards the group.

They jumped away and she bolted to her brother. Aiming all of the place just to by her time, she grabbed her brother's arm and dragged him back to the building she was hiding in.

"Idiot! Why did you come back?!" He growled as he struggled to his feet.

"Because I was worried!" She said as she hugged him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, i'm fine. One of those mongrels has some kind of weight trigger. I can't run with my trion body." He said as he looked behind him and deactivated his trigger. Grabbed her hand and dashed out of the building the same way she came in. "Come on! Let's get out of here."

"Okay," she said as she tightened her own grip. Keeping up and helping Ven get through the cluster of buildings and rubble. "We need to head for the lights! I think this area is their war zone."

He nodded and kept running. She didn't dare look back. Not when she knew they were close. Even though she found her brother, he was leading the way through the light rain. The light of the city was still really far away though.

Ven halted to a stop when two of the shadows landed in front of them. She gripped his hand as the moon shone down on them. The two warriors held prideful smirks. One had dim blonde hair and golden eyes. The other had black spikey hair. While his companion twirled his weapon, the dark blonde stepped towards them. "Let's get this over with Yoneya. I want to get back to Tachikawa as soon as possible."

"Yeah. Just not too motivated to fight a bunch of kids." The other, Yoneya, said.

"Umm, excuse me?" she spoke up. She stood in front of her brother, twiddling with her fingers. "W-Why...why are you attacking us?"

They looked dumbfounded. "What are you talking about?"

"We're lost and we haven't done anything that would procoke an attack."

"Provoke, blockhead." Ven corrected with a groan.

"Sorry!"' She apologized with a timid smile.

Their attackers looked a bit off guard. "What are you?" Yoneya questioned.

"I mean, she's right." Izumi said. "Miwa did technically attack first."

Ver lowered her hands and vaguely moved her right hand. Though her gaze focused solely on the warriors infront of her. She took a few steps closer. If she could by time for Ven to escape, then she would swallow her shaking nerves.

Ven let out a noncommittal noise.

"It doesn't matter. Let's get this over with." The dark blonde said as two large trion cubes formed under his hands.

"Don't have to tell me twice." The spiky haired boy said as he aimed his spear. Ver gripped her cloak as she took a few steps back. Then jumped back when he lunged at her. Bolting down the nearby alley as she heard several of them running after her.

Ven was quite a distance ahead but had stopped and waited for her. Reaching out his hand and grabbing her before running by her side. She almost didn't notice that he was in his trion body again or that he had cut off the arm that had the weight trigger.

She looked back. They were closing in on them. "What do we do now?!" She asked.

"I saw a gully up ahead! Once we pass the barbed fences, we just have to book it!" He shouted but the shots being fired were causing the building around them to crumble around them. Some were even collapsing.

A trion bullet shot through her as she tripped. Ven pulled her forward and ahead of him. "Run faster you dolt!"

Everything started to blur into one another as the sounds of explosions started to melt into one another. She could hear her heart beating louder as the lights got closer.

Clink, boom, boom, bang.

The next blast sent us both flying forward. She coughed and hacked. The harsh landing made her dizzy. She could taste blood but pushed herself onto her feet again.

"V...Ven?" She gasped.

He laid close to the fence. Breathing feebly but she could tell he was still alive. Shaking, she dragged her brother under the barbed fence and towards the direction of the gully.

The rushing water was relieving to hear. They'd be safe soon. She lost her footing and tumbled down the hill with her brother. With a gentle thud, they slipped into the chilling water.

But she did not let go of her brother.


	5. 💙 Vermellia Ⅲ💙

“Ven?”

He coughed as she tucked the cloth around him. Two days had passed since they managed to escape from those warriors. They were both exhausted and hurt. The bandages that she could find were barely enough for Ven’s injuries. She had to patch herself with tissues that she found in a nearby restroom.

She crawled back out of their makeshift home. Readjusting the cloth over the box to protect him from the rain and keep him warm. Thankfully, she had found a large blanket after they got back to the city. The box was harder to find but not impossible. Now she had to find him something to eat again.

“I’ll be back Ven.” She said as she ruffled his hair.

“H-Huh?” He coughed. “Wh-Why?”

“You need to get better fast. You know I'm not that smart and like you said we can’t be unguarded.” She said, pecking his head.

“I-I’m fine.” He tried to sit up but she laid him back down.

“Rest~. I won’t be gone long, promise!” She said as she closed rearranged the cloths and fabrics again before dashing out of their hiding spot and out to the streets.

The slippery sidewalks made travel quick and messy. She couldn’t deny it was fun! But she could feel the people around her staring so she decided to start looking around for some food. She had to get good food if she wanted her brother to get better so that meant she either had to steal or she had to beg.

Crossing the road, she hid herself around a corner. Her heart raced as she found a target. A white haired boy was holding out a wad of green paper. He walked inside and bought some food. He sat around a group of people and ate with them. She waited patiently in the cold rain.

In her opinion, they were taking forever. It was starting to turn dark when he finally walked out of the restaurant. He spoke to whoever and started walking down the road. She followed him and the spiky-haired man for a bit but started to slow down the further they got. She needed to think of something to get some money or food.

Taking a deep breath, she dashed towards them. But before she could even reach them, she ran into someone’s leg. She looked up at the person readying an apology when she realized who she ran into. The red-eyed man who had helped them.

“Nice to see you again.” He said as he tilted the weird tarp over her head to block the rain.

She blinked and nodded. “Y-Yeah! Uh? Mr. Kazama, right?”

He nodded and looked towards the two she had been following. They had turned around and were walking back towards them. Conflicted, she instinctively reached for Kazama’s pants leg.

“Evening Mr. Kazama,” the white-haired boy said as the spiky-haired man held another weird tarp.

“Kazama,” the spiky-haired man did a weird nod before looking at her. “This weird twerp belongs to you?”

She hadn’t felt so small in awhile. If Ven was here, he probably would’ve caused so much more trouble.

“We’re acquaintances. Why?” He said as he looked down at her.

She hid behind his leg some more. “She was hiding out here for an hour. We didn’t know what to expect so we assumed the worst,” the spiky-haired man said with narrow eyes.

Mr. Kazama nodded as he ushered them inside. She was hesitant but followed with a bit of hope. It was really cold inside but she guessed it was because she was soaked. Mr. Kazama closed the tarp before kneeling down to her height and moving the drenched tissues. She hissed and took a step back.

“My apologies,” he said as he carefully took off the rest of the tissues. “Your face…”

“Are they bad?” She asked, lowering her hands.

He was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “Where’s your brother?”

She fiddled with her fingers. How was she supposed to answer that? Would he help them again? Or was he just curious about something else? Ven was no doubt hungry and cold by now. She was freezing.

Mr. Kazama’s thumb grazed her cheek. “What’s wrong?” His voice was quiet.

She sniffled. “H-He’s hurt...and cold...and I think he’s hungry.” Her tears warmed her cold face as she lowered her head. The red-eyed man pulled one of his hands away to rub her wet hair.

“Is he nearby?” He asked.

“Let’s go get him. You can tell me everything else once we get you treated. That sound good?” He asked. She nodded as Mr. Kazama grabbed the weird tarp thing.

“I’ll come too,” it sounded like the white-haired boy. “We can take them to Tamakoma branch since it’s closer.”

She lifted her head and nodded. Mr. Kazama followed her along with the white-haired boy. For a moment, she considered just asking them for money to get him medicine to not waste their time. But the cold rain changed her mind, they could probably take them somewhere that would at least get them out of the rain.

She led them back to the alleyway where she had set up their small camp. Noticing the rising water, she raced towards the box. “Ven?!” A rough coughing fit welcomed her as she dragged her brother out of the now drenched box.

“Where…” Ven’s voice was weaker than before she left.

“I’m sorry I was gone for so long!” She apologized as she pulled him close to her. “You’re freezing cold!”

“No...duh,” his breathing was slowed as she felt a faint warmth behind her.

“Come on,” Mr. Kazama says as he lifts Ven up. “We need to get him treatment before he gets any worse.”

She nodded and followed after the duo. Slipping a few times against the concrete before they arrived to what she assumed was Tamakoma branch. Mr. Kazama and the white-haired ran to the building and went inside. She hesitated. Something felt weird about this place. The duo had left the door wide open and raced up the stairs with her brother. 

Ven had told her time and time again to never go into people’s houses if she had felt strange. But she never asked what he meant and now she was beginning to regret it. Nothing seemed scary or weird about this place. “This place gives off a weird feeling,” she muttered.

“Oh? How so?” A voice from behind her made her jump. Whipping around she lost her balance again. But a brunette man with a blue coat caught her. “Woah there. You okay?”

She nodded and clung to his coat sleeve. “Who are you?” She asked as she looked at him.

“I’m Yuichi Jin the Power elite,” he said as he walked into the building. “What’s your name pretty lady?” He asked as he placed the weird tarp next to the door.

“Vermellia. My name’s Vermellia.” 

“Nice name.” He said.

“Thank you Mr. Jin.”

“No need for formalities. Jin’s fine,” the brunette man said as he carried her upstairs. “Can you tell me why you think this place is weird?”

“It’s not weird!” She felt her face finally starting to warm as become flushed. “It’s giving me this weird….calm feeling? I don’t know.” She played with her fingers as Jin laughed.

“It’s alright. I was just curious.” He passed a door and she saw Mr. Kazama patching up her brother.

“Can I go see my brother?” Jin nodded and placed back on the ground. She made her way into the room. Mr. Kazama must've heard her come since he motioned her over. “Is he okay now?”

“Not yet. He needs rest and food. We’ll bring some food up in a bit but first let’s get you treated.” He said as he sat her on the stool.

“Thank you.” She said.

He nodded as she began treating her wounds. She looked over at brother and let out a relieved sigh. Knowing he would probably, no definitely, cause a ruckus when he woke up but for now she was just happy they would be safe for now.


	6. 🖤 Vendetta Ⅲ 🖤

He woke up with a groan. A hand ruffled his hair and was accompanied by a familiar laugh. “Morning sleepyhead. How did you sleep?” His sister asked.

He sat up slowly and looked around. He remembered this place. Weren’t they just there some time ago? How'd they get back here? Scratching his head, he looked back at his sister. Two bandages were on her face. One on her left cheek and the other covered her right eye. “What happened to you?!” He worried once his mind finally caught up. He could feel the anger rise inside of him as he grabbed her face.

“I got them when we were trying to escape. Remember? Their warriors attacked us?” She said as she sat beside him.

He pulled his hands away and combed them through his hair. Closing his eyes and letting out a breath. He could recall a lot of voices but visually he mainly remembers rain and the moon. He growled as the voices from the battle started to become clearer.

“Ven?”

“How did we get here?!” He demanded through his coughing fit. “And what happened after the battle?!”

“You should rest. You and your sister are pretty sick, if that cough is anything to go off of.” A familiar voice said as he walked into the room with a cup of water.

Ven gritted his teeth at the man. He narrowed his eyes as the man sat on the stool next to them. “Why did you bring us back here?” He bit back the urge to snap at both the man and his sister.

She looked down at her fingers as she spoke, “I-I ran into him-”

“You should be grateful. Your sister was willing to put herself in danger to try and get  **you** food and medicine. If we hadn’t bumped into each other she would’ve ended up just like you, probably even worse.” The red-eyed man said with a slight tilt of his head.

“That doesn’t answer my question but whatever I guess,” he said through gritted teeth.

“You were both sick and injured. You in particular were sitting at death's door for the last three days. Is there really any reason to be this mad when you just woke up?” The man said as he took off his stupid coat with no care in the world.

‘Of course he doesn’t! He has all the power in this situation!’ He reminded himself as he tried to push himself off the bed only to be stopped by searing pain in his side.

“Ven?!”

“Did you open your wounds already?!” The two voices started to meld into one another as everything started to get dizzy. The light in the room grew fuzzy and bright as their voices started trickling away.

******

_ He opened his eyes and followed two figures as they ran down a long corridor. People laid sprawled on the floor in dark pools. The two figures stopped at an archway before taking off again. A dark figure followed after them only for unfamiliar figures to stop him. Ven followed the two smaller figures out of the building and towards the ablaze village in front of them. _

********

A cold cloth woke him up. He groaned as he looked towards the person. A buff man. He tried to sit up but the man pressed him back down, gently. “Stay still you’ll hurt yourself again.” His voice was a bit rough but calm.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“Reiji Kizaki.” The buff man said as he readjusted the cloth.

“What happened?”

“I’m not too sure. I think you overexerted but it's possible that it’s something else.” Reiji said as he leaned back into his chair.

Ven looked around the room. “Where’s my sister?” He groaned in pain. “What did you do to her?!”

He was going to tear down the room to find that idiot if he had too. He shouldn’t have taken her to that damned place. He wouldn’t have if he knew how skilled this world's warriors were. But that doesn’t matter now-

Reiji had pinched his nose. Color him intrigued. He glanced back towards the buff man. “Calm down and breathe. She’s fine.” He said as he readjusted the pillows. “She started crying but Kazama managed to calm her down before she hurt herself. She’s taking a nap with Yuma right now.”

“Yuma?” He wondered aloud.

A light knock echoed through the room. The person came into the room, quietly shutting the door. The red-eyed man sat on the edge of the bed. “How is he?”

“He just woke up," Reiji said as he straightened out the blanket.

“Who are you people?” Ven asked as drowsiness called and tugged him back into the world of darkness.

“We’ll tell you when you wake up. But just know, we want to help you and your sister.” Reiji said.

“We don’t...need your help,” he tried to snap back but the man gently ruffled his hair. Despite his hand being colossal, it was soft and gentle.

“Go back to sleep,” the red-eyed man said as Ven closed his eyes.

‘They better not stab me.’ He thought bitterly as he tried to fight off sleep. He didn’t have time to sleep. He needed to make sure these weirdos weren’t lying about his sister and figure out what was going on.


	7. 🖤 Vendetta Ⅳ 🖤

Ven had woken up to the two men with the addition of his sister, a tall brunette, and a white-haired runt. He pushed himself up slowly. Thankfully the pain was more or less numb at this point. Vermellia hugged him tight with a few sobs.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

He nodded and patted her head. “I’m fine now,” he reassured as he pulled away and sat next to the window. “I’ve got questions.”

“We may have the answers,” the brunette said with a smirk.

Ven glanced towards the newcomers and pointed. “Who are you two?”

The brunette threw up a weird hand sign before he spoke, “I’m Yuichi Jin. A power elite.”

“And I’m Yuma Kuga. Nice to meet you.” The white-haired runt said.

“Same...I guess.” He said as he gave each of them a quick glance. “Where is here?”

Ver gave him a weird look, which made him groan as he was reminded of his sister's stupidity once again. “Where is here in relation to where we had fought those warriors?”

The look that his sister gave him realized with a shiver that she had no idea. “Ummm…I-I-”

“You mean Border agents?” The white-haired shrimp asked.

“I don’t care what they’re called. They attacked us and nearly killed us,” he snapped before turning towards his sister. “Did you at least keep in mind where we fled from?”

She looked away from him, clearly upset as she fumbled with her words. It was Kazama who stopped them. “Vendetta, was it? You need to take a deep breath and calm down. Before you faint again, we’re just as confused as you and your sister but being enraged isn’t going to help anyone at all.”

Reiji had then decided to put his two coins in. “Give her a break. She’s been scared this whole time. If you two need time to talk we’ll gladly give it to you.”

Ver turned to the four nuisances. Or probably friends in her case. “C-Can I talk to him alone?” She asked. “If he hurts himself I’ll let you know.”

The four nodded and one-by-one left the room. He gritted his teeth trying to bite back his anger. His sister turned back towards but before even opened his mouth she placed her hand on his chest.

“I can’t remember anything before we were attacked,” she said, shaking even more now than before.

“What can you remember?” He asked after letting out a breath and calming down a bit more.

“My warrior name is Vermellia, you’re my twin brother, and we ran away but after that everything is blurry,” she sobbed.

Ven ruffled her hair a bit before pulling her into a hug. He decided to think about his own memory and figure out what he could remember. Besides their names, his mind was still fuzzy on the details but a few did stand out. ‘We came through a gate, so we don’t belong here. But if we ran away then where do we belong?’ He wondered as he slowly patted her back. They had to be around seven or eight just basing it on their heights. Maybe they needed more time to think about it? “Are you scared?” He asked.

She met his gaze. “You’re not?”

“Of course not,” he chuckled and puffed out his chest a bit. “Besides I gotta watch out for you. Especially if what red-eyes said was true, then can I really afford to be scared when you’re already a mess?” He laughed as she bumped her head into his stomach.

“Don’t forget, I got you here!” She reminded him with a pout.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said as he made his way towards the edge of the bed.

“Where are we going?” Ver asked as she jumped off the bed.

“To find those four. I still have questions and being in this room any longer is going to drive me crazy,” he said as he walked towards the door. He could feel his own body shaking a bit from the pain but ignored it. He let out quiet breaths with each step he took. Ver pulled him close to her. Putting his arm over her shoulder and leaning onto her more.

“We should get you some more medicine too,” she said as she pushed the door open and led him towards some stairs.

“Medicine is glorified herbs. You can’t rely on them all the time or you’ll get addicted,” he panted as they reached the stairs.

“But you’re struggling!” She raised her voice a bit.

He was starting to see black dots. He could hear footsteps as he tried to shake it off. “What are you two doing?!” One of the four nuisances spoke up.

“He wanted to talk to you guys. But he didn’t want to be in the room-”

“I’m fine!” He said as he forced his eyes to stay open. “The room is too stuffy anyway.”

“Fine but he’s resting on the couch,” Reiji said as someone picked him up.

“I can-”

“No, you can’t. Stop pushing yourself. You two are safe here,” the red-eyed man as he rubbed his back. Ven didn’t struggle much when he felt his head gently being pressed against whoever’s shoulder. The scent was soothing. Mint mixed with something else.

“Wh….ever…” he muttered and relaxed against his shoulder.


	8. 💙 Vermellia Ⅳ 💙

She pressed her hand against Ven’s head, gently. No fever, thankfully. She let out a sigh as something warm pressed into her back. Tilting her head, she saw the warm cup that Reiji had in his hand. “Here. It’s hot chocolate,” he said.

She turned around and happily took the cup. “Thank you so much,” she said, smiling. 

“No problem Vermellia. Feeling better?”

She nodded. “Yeah! Sorry for my brother. He’s just being weary I think.”

“He’s worried. You two are probably suffering an amnesia spell. If you’re lucky it will probably pass within a month or so,” Mr. Kazama said as he leaned back in the chair with his arms crossed. Jin sat at the other end of the couch. “Do you see anything Yuichi?” He asked as Yuma sat down on the floor.

Jin closed his eyes and scratched the side of his head. “I see many things, Kazama. But what I see for our two little guests is a bit foggy right now.” He said with a chuckle.

“So it’s undetermined right now? Great. Just great,” Kazama said as he put his hands in his face.

“Is…,” Vermellia startled herself when she spoke. “Are we...i-in trouble?”

The four turned their attention to her. She lowered her head a bit. Besides Yuma, maybe all of them seemed so intimidating. They could all kill them both right now and not have to worry about the consequences. Or at least the consequence of their family ever knowing they died. If they were even alive, that is.

“I don’t see why you would be in trouble. You said that you two only ran into the Restricted zone to get out of the rain,” Yuma said as he turned towards her. “Even if your brother attacked first, it’s clear as day that you two were pretty scared. At least you were, Vermellia-chan.”

“While you are right Yuma, remember that they still attacked back using their triggers. Base will be coming after them and they won’t stop until they are properly dealt with.” Jin said almost like he was reminding him.

“Wh-what?!” Her voice cracked and Jin looked a bit nervous. Vermellia could feel herself shaking. The fairly warm, almost scalding chocolate threatening to spill over from her growing shaking.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Reiji said as he rubbed her back. “Border’s not very trusting of Neighbors. We’ll keep you safe, promise.”

“But won’t they attack us once they find us?” Her eyes drifted down at her cup.

“Only if you’re in the restricted zone, I think.” Yuma said as he finished his drink.

“Is it that area where nobody lives in?”

Kazama nodded and Jin answered. “Yeah that’s the one.”

“Ven guessed that that area is your battle zone.”

“No one is allowed to go there unless they are Border agents,” Yuma said as he turned to her. “If you two hadn’t fought back, they probably would’ve assumed that you two were just homeless.”

“I guess so,” a yawn escaped her as she calmed down.

“Tired?” Reiji took the cup from her. She nodded and leaned back. Resting on her brother’s side as they walked around. She felt his side rumble as she closed her eyes.

**********

Ver yawned as she opened her eyes. Her stomach growled as she noticed a hand grooming her hair.

“Morning idiot,” her brother said softly as she turned her head towards him.

“Morning~ Did you sleep well?” She nuzzled into his stomach before sitting up. He didn’t say anything at first.

“It….was okay. How long have we been out?” He asked as she sat up.

"A night. Do you still want to ask them questions?" 

He nodded as he looked around the room a bit. Ven’s calmness was a bit unsettling for her but she pushed it aside and smiled. “Did you dream?”

“You can say that,” he dismissed as he looked away. She tried to follow his eyes.

Towards the door. The tabel. The weird screen. The other chair. Then repeat.  _ Scouting, maybe? There’s not much in here though.  _ “Is something wrong?” She pressed herself closer to his side. “We’re downstairs. They wanted you to be comfortable-”

“Why were you scared last night?”

“Huh?”

He readjusted a bit and turned towards her. “You were shaking last night and your voice changed a bit. Did they threaten you?” He asked a bit louder though not the tone he’s had the last few days.

Her eyes widened a bit before a warm feeling ran through her. She hugged him. A smile making its way onto her face. “I’m fine! They were talking about some scary things but they were just trying to be honest I think. If you want, I’ll go look for them so they can tell you about it.”

He let her. Sighing, “They’ll probably come to us sooner or later. No point in fetching for mutts and tiring ourselves.”

The door opened and her brother was quick to narrow his eyes. Pushing her behind him a bit before she grabbed his arm. “We’ll be fine. I promise.”


	9. 🖤 Vendetta Ⅴ 🖤

He kept Ver’s words in mind as two of the four mongrols got them some food. The one that wore the blue coat had given him some pills. He would’ve snapped at him but the pain in his side was slowly starting to burn. So he took them with little hesitation. The white-haired mongrol handed them their plates.

His sister thanked them and started to eat. No hesitation at all. He watched her and readied to catch her if she were to drop. “Aren’t you hungry?” The white-haired mongrol asked him. He turned towards the two across from them.

“You’re really tense,” the mongrol with blue glasses said. “I promise there’s no poison in it.” He waved his hand towards the food.

Ven looked towards his sister. She simply smiled at him. Her food coated her face as he sighed. Grabbing the utensil before saying a silent prayer and taking a bite. Ven couldn’t taste anything off with the dish. Which of course he wouldn’t be able to taste anything if they mixed it all properly.

Surprising, neither of the two mongrols said anything about being right. They all just ate quietly minus the mongrols mentioning something about cooking.

“Your name’s Vendetta, right?” The white-haired one asked. “Your sister said you had some questions for us.”

He rang his head for his questions but was drawing a blank. Scratching an itch behind his ear he spoke, “I’ll ask when I remember them. All this sleeping made me forget.”

“Oh.” He said as he took another bite.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ He thought bitterly. “Where are we anyway? And I mean what planet are we on. Not what building we’re in.”

“The inhabitants call this planet Earth. But it’s Meedan,” the white-haired mongrol said, looking a bit thoughtful.

Ven’s eyes twitched. ‘So he’s a neighbor. Or a foreigner? No, he wouldn’t know that we called this place Meedan unless he came from the other side.’ He took another bite of his food. “So you’re from the other side too?” He asked.

“Yeah! He came through the gate earlier this year, Ven!” His blockheaded sister smiled with her cheeks filled with food.

“Ver, please eat your food before talking. You’re going to choke,” a familiar voice came through the door. Ven looked up and saw both of the men from the other day. The red-eyed one making his way over to her as she started chewing. Thankfully with her mouth closed. The red-eyed man wiped her face with a cloth before sitting his stuff somewhere behind the couch. “Good to see you’re awake. How are you doing?” He asked as he pressed his freezing hand against his face.

Ven flinched away a bit. “Your hands feel like ice! “ He barked as he rubbed his cheek. He couldn’t stand the cold. If he had it his way, he would’ve bitten his hand off for how cold it was.

“Apologies. We walked here,” he said as sat beside them. “How are you both doing?” His tone was cautious now.

‘He probably just doesn’t want to get bitten.’ He thought smugly though he made sure to keep a straight face.

“We’re good, Mr. Kazama! How was your night?!” She asked after finally swallowing all the food stuffed in her cheeks. Though Ven couldn’t help but be baffled at how casual his sister was with these people. Especially this Kazama guy. Granted he had been sleeping a lot so she was probably blubbering her mouth to anyone who would listen and the poor man was probably her target.

“It was quiet. I had some paperwork to do so I went to bed a bit late,” he said as the buff man came back.

Ven gripped his pants leg as another spasm of pain shot through him. Gasping, he hunched over. Spilling the plate on to the floor as the surge quickly spread throughout his body.

“Ven!”

“What’s wrong?!” The red-eyed man asked, stern as he knelt in front of him.

He could hear everyone shuffling around him. As dark spots started appearing everywhere again. His arms wrapped around his stomach as he felt two more spasms wrack his body before he could finally relax again. Panting as he felt someone lifting him up.

“I’m going to check his wounds,” Kazama said in a calm tone. “He’ll be fine. He took the medicine, right?”

“Yes sir,” the white mongrol said as Kazama took him out the room.

“Where…” Ven gripped Kazama’s clothes as they entered a different room. “What are you doing?”

“Checking your wound,” he said as Ven let go of his shirt. “ My hands are still cold. My apologies again.”

“You apologize too much.” 

“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. We’re aware that you don’t want to be here-”

“But you’re only doing it for my sister.” He turned his head away as Kazama helped him out of his shirt. “That idiot can’t take any hints.”

Kazama stayed quiet but he noticed the man’s face shift slightly.Undoing the bandages, Ven could see a large part of skin where the brown turned to this where purplish-black color. “That doesn’t look good at all,” he muttered as Kazama pulled out some objects. “Was it this bad when we got here?”

“If your sister hadn’t ran into me, you probably would’ve been dead by now.” The older man helped him stand on the cold surface. “If not from infection, then either hypothermia or starvation. Maybe even blood loss.”

The wound actually shocked him a bit. There were stitches from just below his armpit down to his stomach from what he could tell. A few more things caught his eye, well a few injuries at least. A cut on his neck. Along with some bruises on both of his arms and his foot. “What happened?! I don’t…”

“You don’t remember,” The red-eyed man sighed as he started applying some kind of ointments on his wounds. Neither of them said anything as Ven racked his head again for any memory possible.

‘Name? Check! Age? Check-ish! Sibling? Unfortunately check! Trigger? Wait?’ Ven checked himself everywhere. He couldn’t find it.

“Your trigger’s in the bedroom, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“Okay,” a thought shot through him. “You were there when we first arrived, right?” Kazama nodded quietly as he treated his wounds. “Was there a ship? Or did we just come out of the gate?”

“Just the two of you,” he said as he picked up the bandages and started wrapping his wounds. “Reiji, Jin, and I followed you two for a bit. You were ready to defend your sister but you both lost consciousness. I’ll admit that the whole situation is kinda bizarre for everyone. But we haven’t proceeded with anything major yet.”

Ven gritted his teeth and glared back at him. “So you guys did something?!” He struggled to keep his voice down to not worry his sister. Despite her being downstairs, he needed to try and keep himself under control.

“We reported the event to our bosses and they’ve decided to let you two rest for the time being. You both are safe here for now.”

“How long is ‘for now’?” Kazama shrugged as he met his gaze. Finishing up the bandages, he helped him put his clothes back on. “I can do this myself thank you. And why are you helping us anyway?”

“I...I have my reasons. We don’t expect either of you to trust us.” Ven noticed the tone shift. It was faint and a bit warm. He didn’t know how to take that. But for now he just nodded.

“Does my sister know?”

“I just received the news myself this morning. Jin and Reiji may have gotten a bit earlier but I’m not sure yet.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“I can’t make that decision for you. That is up to you and your sister to decide.” Kazama said as he helped back to the ground.

Ven nodded, “You said you had some questions, yeah?”

The older man nodded. “I won’t pressure you or your sister into speaking. But we need some answers at some point.”

Ven pushed the door up and noticed his sister at the end of the hall with the others. ‘Might as well get this over with. Paying back a favor as quickly as possible was better than being pressed for it constantly.’ He thought as his sister made his way over to them.

“How are you feeling, Ven?” Ver’s concerned tone made him sigh as she hugged him. “Was it your wounds? Did Kazama manage to fix-” Ven covered her mouth.

“I’m fine. I just opened my wounds.” Ven assured her as he stretched his arm. Being mindful not to agitate the patched area. He turned towards the red-eyed man. “Can I talk to my sister alone for a bit?” He nodded and took the mongrols downstairs. “Follow me. We need to talk about something.” Turning and making his way towards the other stairs.

“Sure! What do we need to talk about?” She asked as they sat on the stairs, lowering her tone.

“Besides what you told me earlier, is there anything else that you can remember? Anything at all?”

She tilted her head before looking down at her feet. “Ummmmm.”

“I’m asking cause you mentioned something about us being attacked.” He said as he propped his elbow onto his knee. “I’m just curious. I want to know what happened that night.” He noticed her shaking a bit but nodded at his words. He leaned into his sister’s shoulder. “You don’t need to tell me now but I want to pay them back with some possible information. I’m not gonna pressure you. Just promise to tell me, kay?”

She nodded clearly still thinking. “The battle was all over the place. I’m trying to remember everything….” she mumbled a bit downtrodden. “I wanna pay them back too!” Her tune was quick to change as she jumped to her feet and slapped her face a few times. Spinning around and then falling onto the floor.

“You okay?”

“Yep!” She jumped back onto her feet. “Let’s put our heads together and remember! Or should we ask Mr. Kazama and the other for help?!”

He nodded slightly. Glancing towards the stairs the four had disappeared down. He didn’t trust them but if it meant his sister was guaranteed safety then he could comply with them for the time being. His stomach growled as he slowly got back to his feet.

“Food first! Questions second!” She cheered and helped him walk down the hall.


	10. 💙 Vermellia Ⅴ💙

Vermellia had managed to sneak away after bringing her brother back to the common room. Something had been bothering her and she wanted to check it out. Making her way towards the roof, she noticed this weird feeling kept bothering. Like an itch, she couldn’t scratch but desperately tried to. With no understanding where the itch was.

It felt like someone was glaring at her. The chilling feeling stopped the moment she walked out onto the roof. Looking around, she was only welcomed by a beautiful cloudy sunny day. 

Wide-eyed, Vermellia’s worries faded as she raced over towards the ledge. “Wow!” She said as she looked all around. She hadn’t left Tamakoma Branch since they came back. Reiji and Jin made it clear when Kazama was patching up her brother that it would be best if they stayed there for a while. She took a deep breath and puffed it out. A small breath cloud wafted back in her face. She laughed a bit and climbed onto the ledge. Taking in everything around her. The fresh air to the soothing sound of the water below.

She took another deep breath as the weird feeling came back. The itch that she couldn’t scratch. This time it felt stronger. Someone was watching her. Gazing around, she tried to crane her body to look around but felt her hand slip off the ledge. Vermellia yelped as she fell off the ledge and towards the water. 

The freezing water pulled her in but she wasn’t afraid. It was welcoming her. She let it carry her away before blinking. Opening her mouth, she huffed out all of the water and started swimming. She felt calm like water. One hand in front of the other. Right and Left. Like digging a hole, she caved her hand like she was digging as deep as she could. Then pulling the water behind her before repeating the movements. Making her way to the surface, she took in a deep breath the moment her head broke free of the water’s embrace. ‘Well,’ she thought as she looked around for a bit. The sound of rushing water slammed into her harshly with the wave that accompanied it.

Knocking her forward and pushing her further away. Through the water, she could still see Tamakoma Branch. A bit far away, but still visible through the water until another wave knocked her away. Shutting her eyes as the wave knocked her towards the bottom of the ravine. She pressed her hands against the ground and pushed herself back up. Fighting her way back towards the surface. Taking a deep when she broke free again. ‘Guess I'm a good swimmer.’ She thought as she made her towards the side of the ravine.

She decided to let go for a bit when the waves finally calmed down. Drifting away from the edge a bit, she swam around in a quick circle before diving back under the water. ‘It’s so pretty!’ She thought as she listened to the sound of the water as she swam through its amazing depths. Crystal clear with the sun shining over her. There were no fish, but it didn’t bother much. Vendetta had told her that the ravines around here were man-made and that any life that was there before was different now.

‘This is actually pretty relaxing.’ She thought as she slowed to a stop. Looking up, she made her way back to the surface. Her nose burned as the water ran down her face. The air was cold as it raced through her lungs. She smiled as she made her way towards the large white walls of the ravine. “This is so fun!” She said before pushing herself away with her soaked feet. Floating away on her back as she looked up at the sky. Taking a deep breath, she submerged herself back into the cold water. So relaxing.

Her eyes widened as she felt that itching feeling shot through her. It was stronger than before. The feeling that accompanied it worried her. One of fear and shock. Looking towards the surface, she noticed a group of people making their way towards the edge of the ravine. One after another, she felt the itch race through her and felt several sensations rushing through her body. Neither pleasant nor painful. All of them shared that feeling of fear and shock. Some of them even emitted feelings of confusion. Curious, she made her way back to the surface. She poked her head out of the water.

“Hey are you okay?!” One of the people asked from the otherside of the ravine. She looked around to see if they were talking to someone else before answering.

“Yeah! I’m okay!” She shouted back, swimming towards them a bit. Her vision was blurry from the water so she couldn’t see them too clearly. But she could tell that there were seven of them. Their emotions were slowly turning from fear to just worry and a small sense of relief. “How are you?! Did you come to swim too?!” She asked loud enough for them to hear her. 

“That’s good,” the man said. There was still quite a distance between her and the people on the ledge. “Why are you swimming here? It’s kinda cold to be swimming right now. You’ll catch a cold.” The man leaned down towards her, offering a hand. The others kept a hold on him to make sure he didn’t fall in. Out of the group he, and what felt like maybe two others, still had that sense of fear around them.

“I fell off a roof and just sorta decided to go for a swim,” she admitted, barely reaching his hand with her own. He was able to pull her out of the comforting hold of the water as the others pulled him back up. “Were you just passing by?”

“Sorta,” he said as he placed her down on the cold ground. She clung to him and lifted herself off the ground. “Sorry.”

“She doesn’t even have socks.” A girl said as a rustling sound came from the other side. She looked up at the brown-haired man. “Poor thing.”

Vermellia started to feel a burning sensation in her eyes and nose. She moved to rub her eyes but he stopped her. Before she could ask, someone pressed a cloth to her face and started to wipe her face. They even wiped her running nose before pulling the cloth away. “Your eyes probably have saltwater in them.” He remarked with a softer tone.

She blinked once. Then twice. Then a third time until her vision became a bit clearer. “There we go.” A lady with pretty blonde hair said before throwing the cloth towards a guy with glasses. 

The blonde lady looked down at her before the other raven-haired boy spoke up. “Vermellia, right?” He questioned. She nodded and smiled. “I thought so. Reiji talked about you and your brother the other day.”

“This is one of those neighbor kids?” The other brunette said in an unenthusiastic tone but she didn’t mind.

“I guess so. Yuma mentioned them when we were at school earlier today.” The short girl said with a wave. “Hi there! My name’s Chika. Chika Amatori.”

“That’s a pretty name!” She said as she looked around the group. Almost missing the dark clouds rolling in. “Is a storm rolling in?” She asked.

They nodded before the raven-haired boy without glasses spoke up, “Yeah, let’s hurry and make our way to Tamakoma Branch. It’ll be a pain if we all get sick.”

Vermellia sneezed right after he finished. “We already got one sick.”

“I’m not sick.” She whined as they started heading back. She shivered when the wind started to pick. ‘Vendetta’s gonna be mad when he realizes i’m gone. No, he’s probably already mad.’ She thought, almost missing the fact that the man that was holding her had wrapped her up in a bigger thing of cloth. He didn’t say anything as they made their way back to the building. She hadn’t realized how far she actually drifted from the building. She couldn’t see the building for quite some time. An uneasy feeling started to build inside her a bit when she looked around the group.

“Vermellia! There you are!” Kazama’s voice soothed her as she looked up towards him. He was looking down at them from the higher ledge.

“Oh, Mr. Kazama?” The raven-haired boy with glasses said. Everyone made their way up to the ledge, well besides the girls. The man who had been holding her had given her to Kazama while he helped the two girls up onto the ledge.

“Vermellia, are you okay?” He asked in a much calmer tone.

She nodded. “I'm fine. I just fell off the roof. That’s all!” She tried to reason but that only got her a skeptical and stern gaze from Kazama. “Did I...do something wrong?” She asked, her voice going small.

He sighed and tightened the cloth around her. Her face was warming from embarrassment. "I saw you fall off the roof. When you didn't come back up immediately, Jin and I almost assumed that you drowned."

"Almost?" She lifted her head slowly to meet his eyes. He nodded but didn't really say anything. 

"I'm glad that you're not hurt," he said flatly before looking at the others. "Let's go before the storm hits." They nodded. The pretty blonde took the lead as the group picked up the pace. Vermellia said nothing as the cold air cooled her body. 

Her eyes and nose were burning as she began panting. Becoming both too hot and too cold. She coughed a bit as the rain started. It only got worse as the rain picked up. Kazama pulled her closer as it picked up. “Hang in there. We’re almost there.” She nodded as best she could and closed her eyes.For a while she took in the sounds of the gentle rain and rising wind. Noticing that weird itch coming and going occasionally. Soon it was just quiet. Dark and quiet. 

*************

_ “Vermellia.”  _

_ A voice called out to her. A familiar voice. She looked around. The hall was mostly empty. No one was around her. The stone walls allowed very little light into the hall. Only enough to reveal the path ahead of her. On her end, nothing but darkness. On the other end, two lights radiated the hall. A light green and a fiery red. _

_ “Vermellia.” _

_ The voice was a bit louder. That time. Coming from the other end of the hall. Heart racing, she dashed to the other end of the hall. The sound of fighting slowed her down to a stop. Hesitation held it’s tight grip on her as the sounds of screams reached her ears. Sending a piercing cold through her body as they called out to her. Only to be drowned by another voice, the same familiar voice. _

_ “Vermellia!”  _

_ Whipping around, she was met with a tall figure and a singular visible vermillion colored eye like hers. They held out a hand to her. _

_ “We need to find Vendetta and get out of here. Come on!” He said as she grabbed his hand. He led her away from the sounds of fighting and flashing lights. A large explosion spilt the hall and she lost her grip on the man’s hand. _

_ “No, Vermellia!” _

***********

She gasped as she shot up. Panting, she let out a cough and gripped her shirt. “Bad dream, huh?” She looked up and nodded. She recognized him as the lighter brunette boy who was with others. 

He seemed annoyed as he pressed a hand against her head, “You caught a cold earlier.”

“Earlier?” He nodded not really saying anything. She looked out the window and noticed the rain. “It’s raining now.”

“Yep.” He said.

“Did I worry everyone?” A feeling of shame flooded through her.

“Duh, you did faint after all. That was a huge pain in the butt. Especially with your brother snapping at everyone.” He groaned as he sat on the bed. 

She leaned over to look at him. His messy brown hair stopped at his shoulders. Heck if he hadn’t spoken she’d assume he was a she. He was wearing a grey sweater and light brown pants. She started to reach out to him but stopped when she noticed her hand was covered in bandages. 

Before she could even ask, the brunette spoke up again, “One of the guys ended up dropping you on accident. Some glass cut your hand.” Again sounding more annoyed than anything else.

“Oh. Thank you.” She said as she crawled from under her covers. “Are the others still here?” 

He nodded. “They’re downstairs. Your brother is still throwing a fit but it sounds like he’s calming down.”

She tried to listen but couldn’t really hear her brother. The only thing she could hear was her head ringing and the man’s breathing. “I can’t hear him. Is he really mad?”

“He is. I just have better hearing than you thanks to my Side Effect.”

She frowned. “You sound bored and annoyed. Am I boring you?” She crawled towards him and looked down at him.

“Yeah, but it’s better than trying to calm that menace you call a brother. He was giving me a headache.” He groaned before sitting up and stretching. “Anyway, I’ve got a question for you.”

“What is it?” With a tilt of her head, she sat up and met his black slitted eyes. “Are you mad?”

“No. Just curious. Why were you in the ravine? And what’s your relationship with my Captain?” The brunette asked as he propped one leg up.

“Your captain?”

“Kazama.”

She was...confused. But if he knew Kazama at the very least, he was an ally. Maybe even a friend. “He saved me and my brother twice. Thrice for me now.” Saying that aloud made her stomach drop. Maybe from the guilt of making him worried And that was only Kazama, she hadn’t thought about how Reiji or Jin must’ve felt now. “They’ve been helping us get better. We were attacked by your warriors some time ago and suffered an amnesia spell because of it. My brother was hurt really bad and I couldn’t make him better.” She had turned her head away from the brunette as she went on. “Since my brother was always sleeping, either him or Reiji spent time with me. But they haven’t asked that many questions, that I had an answer too.”

He nodded and the door opened. “So this is where you ran off to.” Kazama’s voice brought this cold feeling onto her as she looked up. Reiji was with him as well. “Good to see you're awake Vermellia. Feeling better?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. My head’s ringing a bit but that’s all.” She said as they walked over to them. Reiji placed his cool hand against her head. She smiled at the soothing feeling. “Where’s Ven?”

All three let out a breath, but it was Reiji who spoke, “He’s downstairs. The others are trying to calm him down. You coming home unconscious like that really upset him. He’s still fuming and throwing quite a fit.”

“That boy is going to tear apart those stitches at this rate,” Kazama added as he ran a hand through his hair.

She laughed a bit before this feeling shot through her. She blinked. It was so quick, but it was certainly there. That itch. It was brief but it was there.

“Something wrong?” The brunette asked.

“Huh? Uh, I don’t know.” She said as she looked around. Maybe she was going crazy? “That feeling came back again. I was following it earlier when I made my way to the roof. I got on the ledge and fell when I was looking around.” Her thoughts started to drift with some questions but stopped when Reiji lifted her up.

“Well let’s worry about that a bit later. At least you're safe for now.” Reiji said as he placed her on his shoulders.

“If we keep pushing off the questions, we won’t get anywhere,” Kazama said while the brunette boy made a disgusted face.

“Eick! I didn’t think you two were parents already,” the brunette said, standing up.

“Oh hush,” Kazama said ruffling the slightly taller brunette’s hair. “You’re used to this by now, Kiku.”

The brunette looked a bit flushed before scurrying out the room. “Wait what’s your name?!”

“Kikuchihara.” The brunette said before closing the door.

“I hope I didn’t annoy him. He seems nice.” She murmured more so to herself.

“Don’t you worry about him. He’s always like that.” Kazama said as he motioned her over. She reached out to him as Reiji handed her over. “Did your brother tell you about the situation?” 

Vermellia would be lying if she said she remembered. Then it clicked, thankfully. “He said that you had questions and we want to pay you back with any answers we can give! I think that was it!” She said as she sat on Kazama’s shoulders now.

He nodded and kept a straight face but she noticed his emotions didn’t seem to match. Mr. Kazama’s emotions were vague and fleeting but she could pick up on his hesitation. “That’s right, but there’s a bit more to that. Remember what I told you the other night? About trying to make this a safe place for you and your brother?”

“When was that talk?” Reiji asked, his emotions weren’t nearly as vague but they weren’t all the way there either. But he was more honest and a bit more cheerful.

“The other night,” Kazama said, smirking a bit. “Well, Headquarters gave us the okay. They won’t proceed any further for the time being. We can even take you out for a bit but you and your brother have to be with either me or Reiji or Jin.” 

She liked the warmer emotion that Kazama emitted. It was again, faint but there was more there this time. “That’s great!!!” She cheered. “Thank you! Thank you!” Hugging his head tightly as the duo chuckled.

“Glad you're happy. Now let’s go tell your brother. I can only hope he’ll be somewhat accepting.” He said as he followed Reiji out of the room.


	11. 💜Jin Ⅰ 💜

To say the several paths of fire and blood had him confused was an understatement. He had that vision upon looking at Kazama and Reiji a few hours before the twins had arrived. The blood he understood. When they did find them they had some open cuts and injuries. He had pushed the visions behind him and helped his friends.

Now here he was, a power elite trying to calm down an enraged fireball. When little miss Vermellia had finally come into the room despite his spitfire comments, he took into account two things. 1. Vendetta didn’t exactly lash out at his sister. Though Jin was a bit curious if Vendetta’s temper would snap at some point.

“HOW STUPID ARE YOU AGAIN! WHAT IF IT STARTED STORMING?! OR WORSE! YOU COULD HAVE HURT YOURSELF AND DROWNED!” Vendetta looked about ready to burst. His honey brown skin was almost as red as Jun’s uniform.

Vermellia on the other hand didn’t seem to be bothered by her brother’s temper. Trying to calm him down a bit. 2. Vermellia has the patience of a saint. Even at her young age and lack of memory, she didn’t seem bothered by his attitude or much else for that matter. Just happy and excited for the things around her.

Jin smiled a bit as he glanced around the room. The large group was pretty tired, trying to calm him down. But ultimately, Vendetta was not having it.

_ Drip. _

He froze for a moment. Blinking. Several paths flooded his vision for a moment. He closed his eyes as everyone started arguing with the young boy. Usually he wouldn’t be too worried about most futures he sees. Stretching, he excused himself from the room.

  
  


He let out a breath as he reached the roof. Kodera and Yoneya waved when he opened the door. “Sup Jin! You need something?” Yoneya asked.

“Evening gentlemen!” He waved back as he continued. “Working valiantly as usual?”

“Hey Jin,” Kodera greeted, standing up and stretching his legs a bit. “Is something wrong? We’re kind of busy here.”

“I know. I know. I’ll be quick,” he said. “A battle will be coming soon. Those kids will be a part of it. I need you to watch them closely when that happens.”

“Huh?” Yoneya voiced his confusion.

“Why us? Shouldn’t you be talking to Miwa and Narasaka as well?” Kodera was skeptical as always.

“Well Miwa did choke one of the kids. And Narasaka is sick.” Yoneya said. “But yeah why us?”

“My Side Effect is telling me something...different.”

His two juniors were silent. Clearly either wanting him to elaborate some more or just plain thinking about it.

“How bad is the future?” The young sniper asked.

“There’s more futures that have the bloodshed of civilians than what I would like to talk about. But there are a few paths where we can prevent it.”

“Does Kido know?”

“He’s prepared. They all are.” He said with a sigh as turned towards the city.

“We’ll pass the word on. Thanks for the heads up.” Kodera said as he went back to his position. Jin excused himself and made his way back to Tamakoma.


	12. 💙 Vermellia Ⅵ💙

It had been several days since her swimming venture. Since then she had noticed that Kazama hadn’t been able to come by as often. Reiji said it was because of work. Though Vermellia wasn't sure. Vendetta said he could care less. But she could see that he cared at least a little. Speaking of Reiji and Kazama, she wondered occasionally what Kikuchihara meant. They were a couple? Like Married? She didn't understand it or much of anything that was going on.

She headed towards her brother’s room. He had gotten much better in the last several days. Vendetta says his injuries don't hurt anymore but she has her thoughts on that. Sure enough though, he was in there. Sleeping again. She closed the door and slid down against the wall. Besides her and Ven, there weren’t really many people around. Reiji and Rindo were the only ones here. She sighed. Then an idea popped in her head. “I can just go fnd Kazama. He’s probably bored at work anyway so he may not mind,” she jumped onto her feet and raced down the hall.

She made it all the way down the stairs and almost out the door, but someone swept her off her feet. “Woah there,” Jin’s voice rang out right above her. “Where are you running off to Vermellia?”

“I was going to find out where Kazama works! It’s boring here and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I visit!” She said. She smiled up at him. “Can I go now?!”

“Sorry but I'm afraid I can’t let you leave. Kazama would have my head if I did that,” Jin set her down after closing the door. She heard a click and frowned. “Hey don’t worry. He told me he’ll be coming around lunchtime to hang out for awhile.”

“How long will that take?”

“It’s only a few hours away.”

She groaned. “That’s too long. I’m bored now.”

He chuckled and motioned her to follow him. “Wanna watch some t.v. or something?” He offered and she shook her head. There was nothing good on the box and she would just be more restless than before.

“I wanna move around! Please can I go and look for Kazama!” She begged.

He gave her a small smile, but again shook his head. She huffed as she followed after the ‘power elite’. “Fine, I’ll follow you around.”

“Sorry but I have to leave soon. I promise you’ll have fun soon.”

****************

Vermellia had made her way to the roof. Still bored out of her mind. She let out a breath as she leaned back against the wall. “I’m so bored.”

She heard the door open a bit and kind of hoped it was Kazama. Or anyone fun really! She looked towards their direction. Not really. It was Hyuse. Someone she had completely forgotten altogether. He said nothing just sort of sat on the bench. She decided to go inside since Hyuse was just difficult for her to talk to.

As she made her way down the stairs, she decided to just go for it. Getting into trouble seemed to be more fun anyway. She could explore all she wanted and really only have to worry about being scolded. She clapped her hands again and made her way down the stairs, quietly this time.

She made her way towards the door and managed to get it unlocked. Opening it, she snuck out and closed it. She let out a sigh and took off running down the road. Though it wasn’t long before she slammed into someone...again. “Ouch! Sorry!” She said.

“Vermellia,” A familiar voice said. “Where do you think you’re going?”

She froze as she stopped rubbing her nose. Timidly looking up at the man in front of her. Sure enough it was Kazama. He was looking down at her with an eyebrow lifted. “Uh, I was going to find you actually.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I was going to try and find you so we could hang out,” she said. Lowering her head and starting to play with her fingers. “I was really bored today.” He didn’t say anything but just leaned down to her level. “I-I’m sorry for leaving the house.”

“Did you tell anybody you were leaving?”

“No. I’m sorry.” She apologized as she put her hands behind her back.

He stood back and held his hand out for her. “At least you didn’t go far this time. Let’s go back and see what we can do inside. It’s going to rain again soon.”

She took his hand with a sigh. Following him back to Tamakoma branch. Reiji welcomed them back. Thankfully neither saw her adventure attempt worthy enough for a scolding and decided to just relax. Vendetta had woken up at some point since he was in the living room sleeping on the floor. “This boy,” Kazama groaned as Reiji picked him up.

“He’s a bit warm,” Reiji said.

“He’s probably fine,” Kazama said as he lifted her onto his back. “We’ll go air out his room. Watch him.”

When they entered Vendetta’s room, she immediately felt how hot it was. “It wasn’t this warm when I checked on him earlier,” she said. Kazama nodded as she clung onto his shoulders. He walked over to the window and opened it. Vermellia noticed his pillow was a bit damp. “Do you think he might need new sheets?” She asked. He looked down at the bed and nodded.

“Yeah, he must’ve been burning up,” he said as he tapped her hand. “Climb down real quick.”

She jumped down as he started pulling off the sheets altogether. She tilted her head a bit but just watched. “Vermellia?”

“Yes?”   
  
“What do you do all day while i’m at work?” He asked as he carried the sheets down the hall.

She followed. “Nothing. I just take a lot of naps to pass the times or talk with Vendetta when he’s awake. But it gets so boring when no one else is around.”

He hummed as he put the sheets in the washer. “Who usually watches the both of you?”

“Reiji and Jin, but I guess everyone here whenever they come around. But even then they’re busy. So I’m mostly alone until you or Jin get back.”

“And Reiji?”

“He’s always keeping an eye on Vendetta.” She looked away. She didn’t want to complain since they were taking care of her brother and her. “T-They’re nice! B-but-”

He ruffled her hair before picking her up. “Don’t worry. I was just curious.” He said and made his way back downstairs. “How’s he doing?”

“Better. It was just a fever,” Reiji said.

“Just as I assumed,” Kazama said as he walked into the kitchen. Vermellia followed him. “I’ll prepare lunch. Keep an eye on him, yeah?”

“No problem.”   
  
“Can I help you cook, Kazama?” She asked, gripping his pants leg.

“Of course,” he chuckled.

***************

They made Katsudon! She could feel a few crumbs on her face as she chewed the pork cutlet as Kazama served the plates. While they were cooking several of the Tamakoma agents had returned home from ‘school’. Whatever that was. Jin had returned with Rindo and Yotaro while Hyuse just sort of appeared. She tried to help with the plates and serving, but that almost turned into a disaster when she nearly dropped the plates. Which oddly rough was around the same time Jin had returned home.

She sat beside Vendetta, who was thankfully not grumpy right now. Everyone was talking about their day. She was interested but had no idea what they were talking about until Konami spoke up. “So did they say anything new about the twins situation?”

“Not yet but they have said that they would like to meet them in person soon,” Rindo said.

“I had discussed it with them just before coming back. I wanted to wait until Vendetta was better,” Kazama said.

Vermellia looked towards Ven but he didn’t say anything. Though he did side eye her before continuing his food. Everyone seemed okay with Kazama’s answer as they kept eating. Vermellia couldn’t lie to herself and say that she was a bit worried.

Once they finished, Reiji had left to take some of them home before the storm could roll in. Rindo, Yotaro, Usami, and Hyuse went downstairs. Kazama was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes. Vendetta had pulled her into the hall. “So what do you think about this?” He asked. “You ready to meet these mongrols boss?”

She sighed. “Really? You know they’ve been very kind to help us.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to be kind.” He said as he sat down. “Besides, it's not like we can do much else.”

“I’m okay with it. As long as we can go together AND you aren’t mean to them!” She poked his cheek.

“I make no such promise,” he said, smirking.

She pouted but smiled and nodded after a bit. “Fine. Let’s tell Kazama.”

They walked back into the living room. Vendetta didn’t have to lean on her this time. She smiled. ‘That’s a good sign at least.’ She thought as they noticed Kazama on his phone.

“You didn’t come get us?” Ven asked.

“I thought It’d be better to let you have your sibling time. I didn’t think I needed to be a part of your conversation,” he said not taking his eyes off his device. She was sure Konami and Jin had explained what it was but she had forgotten what the item was called. “Anyway, I had an idea to burn some time. Wanna do a bit of training against one another?” He put his phone in his coat.

“Heck yeah! ‘Bout time I got a good stretch in! I’ve been sleeping way too much!” Ven said as he started stretching. “Where are we going to train?”

“There are some training rooms downstairs. You coming Vermellia?”

She nodded and followed him. Once they got down there, they were welcomed by Usami and Rindo. “Oh hey Kazama! Veremellia, Vendetta, hey!”

She nodded as Kazama spoke, “They want to do some battle training against one another. Can we borrow one?”

“Go ahead,” Rindo said. “Do they have their triggers?”

“I have them,” Kazama said as he pulled them out of his pocket. They took them and immediately activated them.

She looked down at her trion body. Her uniform was mostly black with the exception of her gloves and boots. Both of which were a dark blue. “Wow~”

“Ready to spar?” Ven asked.

“Yeah!” She said.


End file.
